R.D. Dhanuka, J.

1. By this petition filed under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (for short 'the said Act') the petitioner has impugned the arbitral award dated 29th March, 2011 passed by the learned arbitrator allowing the claims of the respondent in the sum of Rs. 1,74,72,000/- with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from the due date till the date of the award and thereafter at the rate of 12% per annum till payment and rejecting the counter claim made by the petitioner with cost quantified at Rs. 9,25,000/-. For the sake of brevity the parties to this petition are described in this judgment as they were described before the learned arbitrator. The petitioner herein was the original respondent before the learned arbitrator. M/s. Essel Sports Private Limited were the original claimants. Name of the original claimants were subsequently changed to Pan India Infra-projects Private Limited. Some of the relevant facts for the purpose of deciding this petition are as under: -

2. The claimant had launched a cricket tournament called the Indian Cricket League (ICL) wherein both domestic and international players were participating. In the year 2007 the